Slain Bronx man's criminal past may clue cops in to a motive

A 21-year-old man shot dead around the corner from his Bronx home left behind a small daughter — and a criminal past that might help detectives solve his murder, police sources said Wednesday.

Surveillance video obtained by cops shows the victim, Bryce Hamilton, entering the Bronx Deli Grocery in West Farms about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday and being confronted by three men, one of whom — clad in a blue hoodie and wearing glasses — appeared to have sharp words with Hamilton.

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The trio followed Hamilton when he left the bodega, with the man in the blue hoodie renewing his argument with the victim, sources said.

The three suspects and Hamilton headed around the corner, onto Daly Ave. near E. 180th St. Shots rang out and Hamilton was struck twice in the head and once in the right shoulder.

"I walked out and saw his body, lifeless, laying on the sidewalk," said Jerry Perez, the 44-year-old superintendent of the nearby building where Hamilton lived. "It's a shame."

The man in the blue hoodie, who also had facial hair, ran off in an unknown direction. The men with him, one dressed in gray, the other all in white, were seen running east on E. 180th St.

It wasn't clear Wednesday why Hamilton was killed.

Perez said Hamilton lived in his mother's apartment, though she had moved away to care for her ailing mother.

"He has a daughter, about 3 years old," Perez said. "He always talked about her, how much he missed her. He said he wanted to spend more time with her. He was a good father."

"He was nice to me, always very courteous," Perez added.

Hamilton had been shot once before, in June 2013 in the Rockaways, and had 11 arrests on his record, sources said.

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A trio of men followed Hamilton when he left the bodega, with a man in a blue hoodie renewing his argument with the victim, sources said. (Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)

Most of them, including a robbery and grand larceny bust from last year and burglary and robbery arrests from 2012, were sealed, sources said. In 2011 he was busted in the Rockaways, once for trespassing and once for selling marijuana, sources said.

Detectives Wednesday were trying to determine if any issues from his past played a role in his murder, sources said.